MAKIKI, TANTALUS, MCCULLY, PAPAKOLEA JUNE 2011

District 25 News

The Shortlist

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

SPECIAL EVENT: A Community Conversation with MARC ALEXANDER, Governor's Coordinator on Homeless-ness

St. Clement's Church, Parish Hall (1515 Wilder Avenue) @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Join the Parish of St. Clement's and

Representative Della Au Belatti for an

intimate community conversation with

Marc Alexander, the Governor's Coordina-

tor on Homelessness in Hawaii to learn

more about the State's 90-Day Plan.

For details contact Rev. Michael Barham,

Associate Pastor The Parish of St. Clem-

ent's, 955-7745; or Rep. Belatti, 586-9425,

repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov

Friday, June 24, 2011

Friday Family Movie Night at Makiki Community Library

Movie starts at 6:00 pm

Doors open at 5:30 pm for Makiki Reading Program activities

Come one, come all to this movie showing

of the fantastical voyage that takes Lucy

and Edmund Pevensie, along with their

cousin Eustace Scrubb, back to Narnia.

They'll have grand adventures on the

Dawn Treader, encountering dragons and

mermaids along the way before reaching

the edge of the C.S. Lewis created world.

Don't forget to bring your Makiki Keiki

Reading log to check your summer reading

progress.

This event is hosted by Friends of the

Makiki Community Library and Rep.

Belatti. For more info, call 586-9425.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

18th Annual Art Spree 2011

The Contemporary Museum (2411 Makiki Heights Drive)

Join Friends of the Contemporary

Museum for this free, community-

wide event that throws open the doors

of The Contemporary Museum for all

to enjoy.

There'll be urban mural artists, con-

temporary music and dance perform-

ances, and lots of keiki activities.

Shuttle service is provided to the Mu-

seum from various sites in lower Ma-

kiki.

More info about Art Spree 2011, visit

http://www.friendsoftcm.org/ArtSpr11

_Event.htm

Read about the Makiki Summer Reading Program on page 4!

The 2011 Legislature has ended, but the work continues!

In this month’s District 25 News, read about unfinished

legislative business, community solutions being proposed to

address the persistent homelessness in our State, and how you

can encourage the love of reading in the lives of children you

know.

As for me, while I’ll be splitting my time between my

legislative and law offices during the interim between

legislative sessions, I can still be reached at the Capitol. If

you have any questions or I can be of assistance on

community matters, please contact me at

repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov or at 586-9425.

With aloha,

Della Au Belatti

State Representative, District 25

Dear Neighbor,

2

By DELLA AU BELATTI

• funding for Hawaii’s Early

Learning Council (SB289);

• provisions for development of

public school lands (SB1385);

• funding for claims settled and/or

awarded against the State

(HB1001);

• funding for the upcoming APEC

Leaders Meeting (HB1012);

• restructuring and expansion of the

Public Utilities Commission

(SB99); and

• creation of the regulatory struc-

ture to govern development of an

interisland electric transmission

cable (SB367).

Agreement on reconvening confer-

ence committees could not be

reached between the House and

the Senate, and this year’s session,

in my view, came to an unsatisfac-

tory conclusion. During the interim,

I will continue to work on these and

other legislative matters. In particu-

lar, as conference committee co-

chair for Senate Bill 289, I am

concerned with funding for

Hawaii’s Early Learning Council.

HAWAII EARLY LEARN-ING COUNCIL The Council

is tasked with

designing Ha-

waii’s early learning system to be an

accessible, voluntary, comprehensive

and sustainable system that provides

high-quality early learning experi-

ences. Great strides have been made

in the last few years as education offi-

cials, experts, early learning service

providers, and members of the busi-

ness community have worked dili-

gently at gathering data and identify-

ing strategies and goals for creating an

effective early learning system.

Funding for the

work of the

Council is criti-

cal so that the

State does not

lose momentum

in addressing

early learning needs

of our communities and reap- ing the

economic benefits of a high-quality

early learning system.

As reported by a 2009 study con-

ducted by the Good Beginnings Alli-

ance, for every dollar invested in early

childhood education, $4.20 can be

saved in the form of reduced spending

on remedial education, crime, health

and welfare. Funding for the Early

Learning Council is also important

with the impending end of the public

junior kindergarten program in 2013.

If you have any questions about

SB289 or any other bills that have not

been moved on during the 2011 Legis-

lative session, please contact me at repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov or at

586-9425.

Unfinished Business of the 2011 Legislature

See “Select Bills” sidebar on page 4

Unfinished business – this was the

phrase buzzing around the Capitol in

the waning days of the 2011

Legislative session. In years past, con-

ference committees, the final hurdle

over which bills passed on their way to

becoming laws, would string along

into the late hours of the evening with

agreement on bills coming long after

the Legislature’s self-imposed dead-

lines. This year, the legislative deadline

of 6:00 pm was mostly followed,

thereby ending legislative negotiations

and leaving many

bills in con-

ference

commit-

tees to

be taken

up in the

2012 Leg-

islative session.

BILL LIMBO Among those bills left in legislative

limbo, nine bills were offered by

Governor Neil Abercrombie as impor-

tant enough to be taken up in the last

days of session to see if compromise

could be reached and rules could be

waived to allow for their passage.

These bills include:

• funding for the University of

Hawaii John A. Burns School of

Medicine (JABSOM) (SB239);

• authorization of bonds for qualified

capital improvement projects by the

University of Hawaii (SB809);

• funding for Hawaii’s Healthy Start

program (HB614);

3

In January 2011, Governor Neil Aber-

crombie took a bold and early step in his admini-

stration in appointing Marc Alexander, former

Vicar General for the Roman Catholic Diocese

of Honolulu, as his Coordinator on Home-

lessness in Hawaii. Simultaneously, the

Honolulu Urban Caucus, comprised of State

Representatives, Senators, and City Council

members, collaborated to introduce a pack-

age of bills during the 2011 Legislative

session with solutions to address the

many facets of homelessness.

The Housing and Homeless

Legislative Package included

twenty-one measures that pro-

vided appropriations for af-

fordable housing as part of

transit-oriented development,

workforce training, a part-

time homeless care coordina-

tor position for Aloha United

Way 211, housing placement

programs within the Department of

Human Services (DHS), and a landlord liaison project. Other

proposals in the Package included creation of an Interagency

Council on Homelessness and prohibition of discrimination

in real property transactions based on the lawful sources of

income.

While these measures met different levels of success in the

legislative process and will continue to be deliberated, three

ideas have been incorporated into the Governor’s 90-Day

Plan on Homelessness in Hawaii that was announced on

May 17, 2011. First, by executive order, the Governor is cre-

ating a State Interagency Council on Homelessness that will

increase collaboration and community engagement with

leaders of key state and federal agencies, community and

faith-based leaders that represent the local continuum of care

Governor, Legislature renew fight to stem homelessness in Hawaii

for homeless services, homeless or

formerly homeless persons, and busi-

ness and philanthropic leaders.

Second, under consideration in the Gover-

nor’s 90-Day Plan is a pilot “safe parking”

program at one shelter that will meet the objec-

tive of ensuring that existing shelters are maxi-

mized for capacity and service. This “safe park-

ing” program is similar to “safe havens” that

have been debated in the Legislature. As pro-

posed, “safe havens” are temporary overnight

spaces pro-

vided to

homeless peo-

ple on open or

vacant State-owned

lands that would have

certain minimum

amenities and security.

Senate Bill 900 pro-

poses funds for a “safe

haven” project and can

be reconsidered in

2012 since this bill

remains “alive” in

conference committee.

Third, in 2010, the

State Legislature em-

powered the DHS, in

consultation with the

United States Depart-

ment of Housing and

Urban Development,

to create “Housing

First” programs that

Continued on page 4

By DELLA AU BELATTI

Snapshot of homeless in Hawaii ● Statewide, 12-15,000 people

are homeless at some point of the year.

● At least 6,000 are homeless at any given day.

● Children make up 23.5-39% of the homeless.

● 17-42% of Hawaii's homeless are employed full-time.

● 37% of the homeless are of Native Hawaiian ethnicity.

Source: Hawaii H.O.M.E. (Homeless Outreach and Medi-cal Education) Project (www.hawaiihomeproject.org).

4

Select bills remaining in 2011 legislative conference committees:

SB239: Extends annual $4,000,000 authorization from the Hawaii tobacco settlement special fund moneys to JABSOM for operating expenses until June 30, 2015

SB809: Authorizes and appropriates up to $100,000,000 to the University of Hawaii in revenue bond proceeds for construction and maintenance of qualifying capital improvement projects.

SB99: Restructures and expands the Public Utilities Commission.

SB367: Establishes a regulatory structure for installation and implementation of an interisland high voltage elec-tric transmission cable system and for construction of on-island transmission infrastructure.

SB289: Appropriates funds for the Early Learning Council and the Families for R.E.A.L. program.

SB1385: Permits the Department of Education, with the approval of the Board of Education, to lease certain public school lands for the development of affordable workforce housing rental units under specified condi-tions.

HB 614: Appropriates funds for Hawaii’s Healthy Start program.

HB1001: Appropriates funds for claims against the State, its officers, and its employees.

HB1012: Appropriates funds for state law enforcement agencies relating to the planning and operation of security services and activities for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting.

For further information on these bills (including testi-mony received, conference committee reports and dif-ferent versions of these bills), visit the Hawaii State Legislature website at www.capitol.hawaii.gov and click on "Bill Status & Docs."

Unfinished Business continued from page 2

Homelessness in Hawaii continued from page 5

lantly pursued no matter who holds

elected office. Also clear is that the

solutions will come from the com-

munity working together. To learn

more about Governor Abercrombie’s

philosophy and initiatives, please

join us for a community conversa-

tion with Marc Alexander on

Wednesday, June 1, 2011. (See Page 1 for more event details.) We will

discuss the State’s 90-Day Plan and

how faith-based communities, chari-

table organizations, and regular citi-

zens can be part of the State's efforts

to eliminate homelessness.

If you would like to be kept up to

date with bills introduced as part of

the Housing and Homeless Legisla-

tive Package, please visit http://

www.capitol.hawaii.gov/

session2011/pkglist.asp and click on

“Housing and Homeless Legislative Package.” If you are interested in

supporting these measures, please

contact my office at

repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov or

at 586-9425.

move chronically homeless individu-

als into housing while providing ro-

bust support services that lead to self-

sufficiency. This year, Senate Bill 912

would have required DHS to immedi-

ately implement the Housing First

program. In the Governor’s 90-Day

Plan, pieces of “Housing First” are

adopted as the State administration

intends to identify and assess people

who are chronically homeless for

immediate services in urban Hono-

lulu. Actions to meet this objective

include: completing a voluntary reg-

istry of persons who are homeless in

urban Honolulu; rapidly housing with

services those who are the most vul-

nerable; and offering services includ-

ing psychiatric outreach services.

Clearly, solving Hawaii’s homeless

problem will not occur overnight, and

will likely always need to be vigi-

“Also clear is that solutions will come from the commu-nity working together.”

FREE Keiki Summer

Reading Program at Makiki Community Library

This 6-week program

is designed to encour-

age Keiki entering

Pre-school to Grade 6

to improve their read-

ing skills and enjoy

themselves while

they’re doing it! Parents/students

may register and pick up a start up

packet at the Library circulation

desk during regular business hours:

Wednesdays 2:00 — 6:00 pm;

Saturdays 12 noon — 4:00 pm;

and Sundays 12 noon — 4:00 pm.

This project is made possible by

Rep. Belatti, Friends of the Makiki

Community Library, and C&C Honolulu Makiki Park Summer

Fun Staff. Call 586-9425 or visit

www.makiki.info for more info.

Requires parent/guardian oversight..